Rheneas
Rheneas is the Skarloey Railway's second engine. Dolgoch from the Talyllyn Railway is his twin, and Skarloey is his brother. Bio In the Railway Series Rheneas was built by Fletcher, Jennings, and Co. at Whitehaven and arrived on the Skarloey Railway between May and October 1865. Unlike Skarloey, Rheneas was stern and thoughtful and fell out with Skarloey after the latter called him a "stick-in-the-mud" following an argument over cabs. The two reconciled after Rheneas saved Skarloey from a landslide in 1867. Rheneas literally saved the railway by keeping service through a very lean period in the late 1940s. By 1950, Skarloey was in need of repairs, leaving Rheneas to run the line. He managed to pull a full train home one rainy day despite jammed valve gear and was rewarded with an overhaul. His overhaul took place in 1961 and was returned to the Skarloey Railway soon after. Because of his bravery, he earned the nickname "Gallant Old Engine" by railway staff. In the Television Series Rheneas has generally been depicted as a gallant engine. In the fifth season, he, Skarloey, and Rusty were chased by a boulder when it had rolled off from its cliff. In the sixth season he was able to save the Skarloey Railway from near abandonment with the help of Elizabeth, Rusty, and Skarloey. In the seventh season, he worried about how he could make a school trip special, but after being sent down the wrong track, Rheneas gave the children the time of their lives. However, between the ninth and twelfth seasons, he acted more like a young engine; he became careless and silly. Some examples of this include the time he thought he could pull a dinosaur skeleton without Skarloey's help; when he and Skarloey raced Freddie down the mountains (causing him to derail), and the time he and Skarloey had a contest to see who was stronger. While working the Blue Mountain Quarry, his paintwork was severely damaged after becoming a runaway; this was the result of having gone too fast over the collapsing Blondin Bridge. This resulted in the brief period when he was painted yellow with blue lining. He currently works at the Blue Mountain Quarry as well as on the Skarloey Railway, along with Skarloey, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Rusty, Duncan and Luke. Persona Rheneas has been called a "gallant old engine" before and deserves such a title. Rheneas is highly determined, brave, courageous, and long-time friend of Skarloey. He is a tough, committed worker despite his age and takes great responsibility in his work. He is keen to keep his friends smiling and, although he is a level-headed engine, he can be a bit of an adventurer too. Though he may often try to struggle on alone, Rheneas knows when it is time to call on the help of his friends. Nevertheless, Rheneas is always highly dedicated to the task at hand. Basis Rheneas is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Dolgoch, a Fletcher, Jennings Class Bb 0-4-0WT. In the Railway Series, Dolgoch is Rheneas's twin. Smudger is another member of this class. Livery In the Railway Series Rheneas is painted in the Skarloey Railway's red livery with blue and yellow lining. In the television series, Rheneas is painted red with black lining. As for the ninth season onward, he is painted vermilion with gold and black lining. In early magazine illustrations, he was painted carmine. This carried over to nearly all his merchandise. In Blue Mountain Mystery, he was repainted yellow with blue lining to play a joke on Thomas. He was painted back into his original colours soon afterwards. Trivia *In New Little Engine Rheneas is depicted as an 0-4-2. *His name is Sudric for "Divided waterfall". *During production on the fourth season, Rheneas had Sir Handel's face and vice-versa. *Until the sixteenth season, Rheneas had no visible whistle, despite it being heard. *Rheneas has had many modifications throughout the television series. These include: **Season 5: ***Silver buffers as opposed to grey ones. **Season 16: ***Accurate bufferbeam to his basis. ***Differently designed wheel-arches. ***Longer wheelbase. ***Added whistle on his steam dome. ***His cutout windows gained brass frames and contained glass. ***The portholes on the side of his cab became larger. ***Added handrail on top of his boiler as in the Railway Series. ***Riveting detail on the cab and smokebox. ***Added sanding gear. ***Slightly thinner funnel. **Season 17: ***Lamp, lamp iron and a tail lamp, all of which were added at the request of Sam Wilkinson. *One of Rheneas' models is currently on display at the Hara Model Museum in Japan (previously at Nitrogen Studios). *The Reverend W. Awdry's model of Rheneas is currently on display at the Narrow Gauge Museum in Tywyn. *Rheneas was built at Fletcher, Jennings, and Co. at Whitehaven, the same place as Skarloey, Captain Baxter, Talyllyn, and Dolgoch. *Rheneas is the only narrow-gauge engine to have been to Misty Island. Gallery ABadDayForSirHandel10.png GallantOldEngine12.png GallantOldEngine52.png RustyandtheBoulder75.png BlueMountainMystery8.png BlueMountainMystery130.png BlueMountainMystery423.png|Rheneas in his yellow livery Don'tBotherVictor!31.png TheChristmasTreeExpress20.png TheChristmasTreeExpress55.png DuncanandtheGrumpyPassenger10.png Merchandise Gallery OriginalWoodenRheneas.jpg|1997 Wooden Railway RheneasTradingCard.png|Trading Card Category:Skarloey Railway Category:Thomas and Friends steam locomotives Category:Thomas and Friends characters Category:Characters Category:Films, TV Shows And Wildlife Wiki